Hi

My two scamps have now been with us since 10th April - i love them dearly and can't imagine the house without them. They are 6 and brother and sister ,they keep us amused with their 'chat's' and scrapping (is this normal?!?) however we can't seem to get them satisfied with food... i'm feeding them a can of whiskas each a day (as recommended, and they wolf it down) but the little lady (named Pretty Lady) always seems to cry for more, everytime i go into the kitchen she's there crying and begging for food - i do separate them as he eats like its an olympic event (typical man ) and he will push her out of the way to eat whats left of hers.. i've wormed them and frontlined them.. i just don't know what i am doing wrong with Pretty - she gets cat treats and ham sometimes aswell ...any advice??

maybe i should mention that their 'old home' were pretty tight with the food and didnt let them come in the house - maybe its learnt behaviour as they come belting into the house when the door opens and dig themselves into a spot where they can't be easily moved from .. i couldnt anyways i love them too much to leave them outside if they didnt want to be out there

Possibly more of a habit than a need if they're used to being underfed. As long as you know you're giving them enough each day then I'd carry on as you are. You don't want to end up overfeeding as that's just as bad as underfeeding.

A few questions.... Are they underweight? Have you taken them to a vet for a check-over since you got them? What did you worm them with? (wormers from a pet shop are a waste of money) You feed them one large can each per day - divided into two meals a day?

It could be part genuine hunger and part fear they will not get fed again. My mother rehomed a cat who had been kept on short rations and was quite underweight, and he was obsessed with food for the first few weeks, always asking for more. He's calmed down a bit now he's put on some weight and knows that food will be provided at regular intervals. Assuming it's the same scenario, feeding at regular times should make them less obsessed.

My cats are fed on Whiskas too. They get 6 tins between them each day. I always go by what my neighbour feeds his cats which is 200gms per cat. I also feed them biscuits and they have anyleft over meats. They get a treat of tuna between them. I took a kitten in november and he wolfs his food down like he is never going to be fed again as well. I do have 12 cats but i dont care i love them all too bits and 2 2day olds as well.

I've always been told, and have in fact found, that cat's don't overeat unless it's the wrong food or there is something wrong. Fat cats are relatively rare. My lad is a strapping young cat and eats 2 tins a day, plus biscuits, and the remains of any joint/roast we have at the weekend. He's about 8Kg now, which is normal for the breed. We have a moggie too, who eats quite sparingly, in spite of her being top cat. She could eat enough to burst if she chose. She has all she wants/needs, and stops.

I think a lot of vets would disagree - feline obesity is a major problem unfortunately. It is often caused by feeding a dry diet, which is calorie dense (maybe that comes under your heading of 'wrong food').

I agree that some cats won't overeat - the cats I have at moment don't, but some of my previous cats would have stuffed themselves silly on cat biscuit if I let them.

Yes completely normal, enjoy the floor show.

I took in a female kitty many years ago who was obviously domesticated but had been wandering for a while. She was always obsessed with food and would overeat until she was literally sick. I had always assumed it was because she had a lean time when she was wandering so always over compensated. However many years later I got a female Bengal who has never gone without regular food. She is very greedy and will hoover up any wet food available. I have to regulate her otherwise I'd be rolling a spotty furry ball out of the kitchen. I've never had this issue with the boys I've had. So I've come to the conclusion that it might be a female cat thing. Naturally they would spend a great deal of time pregnant or nursing kittens so I wonder if they are just programmed that way.

What I find helps is that I always keep a bowl of dry kibble down for them. They nibble at this in between the meat meals, I think it helps them regulate their hunger and they are less prone to pigging out. My Bengal girl is still prone to the occasional pig out but she never gets really overwrought about food.

I am pleased someone asked about this. We took in an unwanted cat about six months ago. We have just managed to save enough to have her speyed. When we took her to the vet she said she was overweight! When we got her we thought she was a bit skinny, but no way do we think she is fat now. Although I know next to nothing about cats, we have never had a cat before. But she has managed to wheedle her way into our affections, as they do!

The vet has recommended we feed her on royal canin, which of course can be purchased from the surgery, for a price! She says she will only get fatter now she has been done.

She has dried food, a couple of small bowls a day. She will only drink water from a running tap, no matter that we always put her down fresh water in a bowl.

We think she is a British Bengal, she has all the traits, she is a lazy mare! She is mostly a house cat, she will venture out into the garden but at the first noise she shoots back in! She loves to laze on the windowsill in the sun, or on my bed in front of the window.

Is it going to be a problem? Will she need special food? Any answers will be greatly appreciated.

Vets is probably most expensive place to buy cat food, You can get most of the recommended food online, its worth a search. I have saved considerable amounts of money by using a few different internet retailers and buying from those who have the best price at the time. Also helps that I have three of the little monsters so I buy in bulk. Top tip, its worth also checking to see if you can find internet discount code which some internet retailers do from time to time. 10-20% off is not to be sniffed at. An internet search will normally help you out on this. Be careful on delivery charges though, they can bump up the price.

As for special foods, I'm guessing that unless she has medical conditions diagnosed by the vet which means that she need a special diet then you can experiment a bit to find out what suits her and your pocket best.

Personally I feed meat (kitty sachets) once or twice a day and leave the dry kibble down for the rest of the time. Seems to suit my lot and they don't get manic between meals like cats can when they're very hungry (ever had the bladder bounce at 6am?)

hi guys,sorry for the late reply!

in answer to the above - no they are within the healthy scale weight wise, in fact Fatty Matty is slightly overweight (hence the name lol) but my friend who is a vet says this isn't an issue at the moment as long as he doesn't get any bigger!! She's also looked them over and can't see anything to be worried about

I wormed them with Drontal which was recommend by the same friend vet - and yes they get half a can each everyday around the same time

when i first got my 2 cats, they where feral and absolutely terrified and everytime i fed them they would eat it all in one go, everytime, like it was their last meal. they vet says it might be down to being insecure and not used to having food on tap, and before this little gold mine stops, they want to get in as much as possible. quite sad really, but now i can hardly get them to eat anything, they have turned into lady muck and mr picky. nothing is good enough for them lol

such is life.

what is a British Bengal? A British Shorthair x Bengal Two completely different breeds with different looks and traits, so I am not sure what you mean?

Dry food is very often implicated in cat's weight problems so it is ironic that vets then put them on iron rations of dry food to resolve the problem. I would personally feed a mainly wet diet (good quality tins or pouches available from supermarkets, e.g Felix) but I am not implying you should disobey your vet, it's just what I would do.


As you have a vet friend, you have access to better advice than we can give you

I had a cat who was 'fine but should not get any bigger' and he certainly would have got bigger if left to him!

[QUOTE]As you have a vet friend, you have access to better advice than we can give you

I had a cat who was 'fine but should not get any bigger' and he certainly would have got bigger if left to him! [/quote]

she's rather cagey about advice though lol - like we should be paying for it ! Suppose we should be really but i only asked her once! I'll perservere with the regular feeding and hope for the best

lol - if you are still worried, you'll have to pay for some advice from your own vet